Convergence
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: The Fourth Shinobi War was lost. The Bijju were sealed, just as Madara planned. But plans can go awry, and Madara's was no exception. Now, blessed with the power of the greatest dragon, Uzumaki Naruto finds himself in another world. Fairy Tail X-Over
1. Prologue

**A/N: Well, I seem to be on a Fairy Tail binge as of late, don't I? I don't think anyone has tried this idea yet, so I decided to give it a go for the hell of it. One of the rare fics with Naruto as the Jyuubi host, complete with all its powers! Take that, Uchiha Madara!**

_Power is all that matters._

_~Uchiha Madara. _

_**Resurrection**_

It came as less a surprise, more a relief, when he finally awoke.

At first, anyway.

His first clue that he had returned from the land of nightmares came when darkness truly fell. The visions evaporated, and the voices went with them. For a very welcome period, there was nothing to see or hear, or even think. He could just rest, and be.

Then new noises began to intrude on the peaceful silence: the whirring of rustling cloth, low-pitched whispers and murmurrs from someone, a fizzing, spitting noise that could have been running water, and other sounds that had no place in his serenity. His heart rose at the sound of a voice rising above the others. The faint sticking point between each breath was horribly familair.

_"Where the hell am I?"_

He raged against invisible bonds to move limbs he couldn't feel. The babble of noises faded for a moment, then returned, this time with light and sensation accompanying it. A pair of glinting red eyes swelled before his vision, encompassing his entire existence in a single instant. Then the rest of the world swam dizzyingly into focus. He was strapped prone to a medical table in the middle of an operating theater. Multicolored tubes and wires ran from several places in his body to dark machines stationed around him, and stretching up to the high ceiling above, the strange aparatus forcing his heart to beat and his lungs to draw breath.

"Looks like you made it after all."

He tried to turn his head and failed, failed as the voice of Uchiha Madara_-the man they'd all thought to be Madara-_stepped into view, smug in his every step. He couldn't see the face that lurked behind the mask, but he was certain that the madman was smiling. The eyes of the Sharingan and the Rinnegan, both of the Uchiha, stared down at him with cold amusement as he struggled against his bonds. He felt his anger growing, and was well aware of the Kyuubi snarling somewhere deep in his subconscious. Apparently the fox was just as terrified as he, if not more.

"Madara!" He rasped out, finally giving voice to the terror that had crept over him since awakening. "What the hell is this!"

Madara looked away from the teen for a second, up towards the sky. He shrugged as he looked back down.

"What does it look like?"

**"It looks like he's going on a rant." **Kyuubi muttered blackly. Naruto grimaced. Ever since he'd first mastered the fox's power, it had done nothing but rant and rave at him day and night. Granted, it had stopped trying to devour him whenever he'd approached its cage; now it just talked his ear off whenever it hace the chance.

"Resistance is futile." Madara_-he didn't know what else to call him_-began. "As I'm sure you've realized." Abruptly he giggled into his hand. "Oh, you have no idea how long I've been wanting to say those words!" Then he stopped laughing and placed both his hands into a seal, to which the boy stiffened. "Well, it's been fun, Uzumaki Naruto. Now, you will have to excuse me. I have a world to conquer."

Naruto stiffened.

_**"!"**_

Strange kanji appeared upon the fingernails of the statuette hands. Numbering nine altogether, a horde of dragon-like effigies poured from the statue's mouth, surrounding the captured host. Naruto watched them circle, circle, always circling, walling off any chance of escape he might've had. Suddenly with a terrible and terrifying intensity, they reared back. There was no rush and no haste. They struck, and cold fury burned the world white.

_**"Fūinjutsu: Genryū Kyū Fūjin!" (Sealing Technique: Illusionary Dragon Nine Consuming Seals!)**_

Paper thin, his defenses shattered upon contact with the draconic spirits. To Naruto's dismay, he began to blubber and bawl all over again. Writhing, gagging and choking, a liquidic and pale substance drained out of his mouth and into the statue, leaking from his mouth, nose, and even his eyes. Naruto wanted to retch, but his stomach crumpled on itself and left his throat barren.

His eyes bulged and his body convulsed. Liquid fire coursed through his veins, scouring him clean. He tried to resist, tried to contain the chakra but the forces pulling upon him were simply too much to bear. It felt as if he were being slowly torn in two; as if his still-beating heart were being wrenched from his chest. He did everything he could to fight it, to fight the forces drawing out his chakra and his life-force, and succeeded only in prolonging his own suffering. And so, in the end, Uzumaki Naruto screamed.

He screamed; a strange, wordless scream.

_"Daaaaaaaamniiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"_

Overshadowing that soft whistle, came a _sound_. It was strange, this sound, a reedy thin cry, that echoed on into the distance, as though it were the dying gasp of an ancicent creature. It hung in the air, reverberating around them for what seemed like an eternity, before finally losing its tune and fading sadly into the night. However, another chorus immediately overlapped its final note, filling the void that had been left to it by its short lived predecessor.

The antithesis to its parent, this melody contained the voice of a young woman's. Soft and despairing, vibrant and brimming with boundless desire, emanating boundless grief and sorrow within this, its final melody. Unlike its bretheren, it was easily recognizeable, and distinctly human in origin. 'Twas many things, yet all were one and the same. It was the voice of a young woman, whispering softly to her lover. It was the laughter of a little girl, innocent and kind. It was the cry of an insatiable demon, raw with fury and battle lust. It was the sound of many, _of nine,_ and the voice of one. It was joy and sadness, anger and weakness, mistakes made, and yet to be made.

_And it was coming from inside of him._

_**"At long last."**_ Abruptly, the screaming ended, replaced by a voice like velvet. It spoke to him, resonating from deep within his mind. _**"Completion. I had forgotten what it felt like after all these centuries." **_Scarce had it spoken, than his blue irises began to flicker. Tomoe formed where there had been none. White sclera blazed into a fury of scarlet, pulasating with power. Power, raw, incredible power, welled up inside of him, restoring the sensation of feeling, of motion, to his limbs. _Strange._ Wasn't the jutsu supposed to separate the biijuu chakra from him? If so, then why wasn't it? Why was the statue beginning to crumble above him?

_'Kyuubi?'_

An ear shattering laugh crashed down across his ears.

**_"I am Kyuubi no longer."_**

"Impossible!" Madara's voice cried out somewhere beyond his vision. "This cannot be possible! This wasn't supposed to happen! This was never supposed to happen!" He saw stars_-whole planets-_exploded before his vision, and then the world shrank to a pinpoint of brilliance, leaving him hanging there in the darkness. He tried to move, tried to find some semblance of order in the chaos, and found naught but travesty.

He glanced down at his broken body, at the ruined stump of his right arm, severed neatly at the elbow. Without it, he'd never be able to form handseals again. Which meant it was as good as over for him as a shinobi. Not that it mattered, anyway. He seriously doubted that he'd live to see tomorrow; to see the ruination created by their defeat in the Fourth Shinobi War. With all of his friends dead and his former best friend a living testament to all that he hated, there really wasn't anything left for him to do but wait for his end to come and pray that it would be a swift one.

Except that end never came.

A hand laid itself upon his shoulder. Something was pulling him aside, away. He felt twisted, and slowly a mountain came into focus- not the mountain, for the mountain itself remained indistinct, it seemed full of people intensely curious to greet him but he couldn't make them out. All that was truly in focus as the scene changed, focused, narrowed, was _himself._ Uzumaki Naruto, sixteen years old, still in his prime, standing above a behomoth come straight from his nightmares.

Naruto felt something hot and stinging lance through his chest and again the scene changed. He was standing before the beast now, looking on with awe and amazement and abject atrophy as it descended to the earth to face him, to strike him down. It was massive, this creature, and blacker than hell itself. It loomed over him, ten tails of perverse and distorted chakra swaying behind its mighty frame and haunches, leering down at him with a massive eye that looked like a cross between the Sharingan and the Rinnegan and it narrowed, narrowed as it saw the insignificant human standing before its greatness.

Great, leathery wings spread out across its back, folding themselves across a scaly hide. It looked like a giant lizard, easily ten times the size of the Great Stone Faces, and far far mor intimidating. Belatedly, the former host of the Kyuubi realized what he was staring at. Not just the Jyuubi, the true from of the nine tailed beasts but something nearly as ancient as time itself, an entity that demanded-no, _commanded_ respect with its very prescence.

He was staring at a dragon.

**"Boy,"** The beast rumbled darkly, the shadows swelling and swirling about its form as it spoke. **"I owe you many thanks for restoring me to my original form. Long has it been since I last breathed the air of the mortal realm." **It inclined its massive head a fraction of an inch, bringing its scaly visage to bear upon the boy that'd brought it_-inadvertantly-_back to life. **"But now that fool of an Uchiha, that impudent whelp who has already ruined this realm, seeks to wield me for his own personal gain. I would rather he did not."** It held its gaze over him and paused, allowing the weight of its words to sink in for the half-dead shinobi.

Eventually, they did.

"What does this have to do with me?" The blond scratched the back of his head. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I hate the bastard as much as you do, but I'm not exactly in a position to do much about any thing at the moment." He gestured at the stump of his arm for emphasis. "See? I can't even form seals anymore. I'd like to help, but I can't if I don't have both arms. Besides, I really don't see what this business of yours has to do with me, like I said."

**"It has much to do with you."** The Jyuubi answered cryptically, its lone eye looming before him. **"The nine halves that comprise myself have been separated for far too long now, and as such, I can no longer survive in this world without a host. But I require a _suitable_ vessel to sustain myself. Therefore, I have decided to make _you_ my next host." **Was that a hint of smugness in its tone just now?** "By making you my vessel, you may survive, and your wounds may heal, but I cannot predict what changes my prescence might inflict upon you and your form."**

_"Excuse me?" _Naruto blinked, eyes bulging. "You want me to be your host? Now wait a second!"

**"Would you rather I let both of us perish, little one?"** The dragon snapped back. **"I'd much rather seek out a different host, but my patience wears thin and my time grows short. Either merge with me now or allow that pompous fool to triumph and destroy what little remains of your world!"**

An eerie, icy calm washed over Uzumaki Naruto, taking the terror away with it. This was the Jyuubi, he realized. A being even stronger_-and possibly more malevolent-_than the Kyuubi itself. He had absolutely no hope of defeating this creature, should it attack him. Plus, he was dying. He could feel it, the life leaching from his frame ebbing away even as he stood before the Jyuubi and weighed the weight of its words. He could either die and let Madara win, or he could_-once again-_take a tailed beast into his soul and prevent the end of the world, thereby ruining Madara's Moon's Eye Plan in the process.

Really, what did he have to lose?

...I'll do it." he sighed. "Just don't screw up my body!"

**"Excellent."** The ten-tailed dragon shifted, shrugging its massive shoulders and stretching its wingspan; arching its back; rearing up on its hind legs to the full towering height for which its race was known. Its form shimmered and bent and shook, becoming ethereal and transparent as the void between them stretched to a pinpoint of brilliance once more. So bright was the light, that Naruto had to fling his remaining arm up against it. The Jyyubi extended all ten of its many ridged tails toward the boy, touching the round seal that had once bound the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Pain lanced through his gut, and Naruto jerked backward as if he'd been burned, but still, he held his ground.

"So what happens now?" Naruto asked.

**"Now, we will unite, and then we will return." **

Naruto blinked.

"Return? Return where?"

The dragon gave him a rather ferocious looking grin.

**"To Fiorre, my homeland, and that of my kin. Once there, you will learn how to come into the power that is now mine and yours. The power of the Void and of Chaos itself. Now, close your eyes and prepare yourself. This is going to hurt...**

Then several things happened at once.

With every fiber of his being, Naruto pushed himself against the light. With a wordless and inhuman cry, the tendrils of awareness severed from his conciousness. Too much. It was too cruel, to give a man hope and then wrest it away, even if it had been unintended. But the damage was done. The seed he had planted, the seed that'd blossomed into a mighty oak, began to decay. Roots crumbled and fruit became rotten as bark turned to ash, leaving only hopeless depravity in its wake...

* * *

**_(Elsewhere)_**

It was almost two before there was a chance for lunch. Until then his desk was snow-banked with demanding papers, the telephone rang constantly and an amry of insistent visitors attacked his walls with requests for work. By twelve, his nerves were pulled like violin strings knobbed to their tightest. By one, the strings drew close to shearing; by one-thirty they began to snap. He had to get away now; immediately; flee to some shadowy restaurant booth, have a cocktail and a leisurely meal; listen to somnolent music.

He had to.

For his sake, if not that of Fairy Tail's.

Makarov had just finished reading yet another of the Magic Council's many complaints when he felt the first tremor. He looked up just in time to bear witness as the roof caved in and someone came plummeting to the ground in the center of his guild, spraying dust, dirt, and debris everywhere. By the time the smoke had cleared there was a massive crater where the bar had once been, and, lying unconcious in the center of said crater, lay a young blond who looked as though he'd just gotten into a fight with a dragon and lost, quite badly, judging from the tattered state of his attire.

And yet, not so much as a single scratch to be see upon him. Indeed, it looked as though his clothes had been torn

"What in blazes?"

So much for lunch.

_(An unspecified amount of time later)_

Naruto awoke in a haze of pain. His eyes felt like they were on fire; every blink was like shards of glass through his retina. His chest ached so much that it took an act of will just to inhale. The air he inhaled was redolent of medicinal smells. He almost choked on the cloying odors, but just imagining how much coughing would hurt made his throat relax.

Whatever obscure scene he had found himself in, it had passed. He closed his eyes and let out a small sob of relief, but refused to lower his guard all the same. The darkness had still yet to lift from his vision; because his eyes remained painfully scrunched shut. Whether it was a refusal on his part or simply his that his body coping with the trauma, he simply could not bring himself to see a thing.

An unspecified amount of time later left his throat dry and his body reeling. Slowly, he came around, the sights and sounds of the world as he knew it proving too much for his slumber once more. He cracked open sleep-gummed eyes to see, to finally _see_ a hand resting lightly on the blanket over his sternum. Attached to the hand was a wrist, to the wrist, an arm and, as his gaze traced the length of said appendage he found himself staring at an armored, wide-eyed, redhead, who looked just as surprised to see him as he was her; because the first words out of his mouth weren't entirely his own.

"Where the hell am I?"

**A/N: Well, there you go! Naruto is now officially the host of the Jyuubi! Yes, I know it may or may not be an actual dragon, but no one is to say that it is not, no? The pairing is up in the air for now; it could be NarutoxCana NarutoxMira NarutoxLucy NarutoxErza, or even the tried and true NarutoxHarem. Honestly, I don't know! Suffice it to say, however, that Naruto won't be joining Fairy Tail right off the bat. Can't be too predictable now, can we? Also, this story is Pre-Canon Fairy Tail, leading up to the main events of Canon and such.**


	2. Conception

**_A/N: WOW! Thanks for all the reviews, folks! I honestly didn't think you enjoyed this fic that much! That being said, I'm about to present you with ANOTHER twist in this story, one that I hope all of you enjoy reading as much as I did writing it. For those of you who may have asked, is Naruto going to be obscenely powerful in this fic? Well, the answer is yes. EVENTUALLY. He won't be an almighty all powerful invicible badass after only a year or two of training. The Jyuubi's power is something that anyone-even Naruto-has to work at to control. That being said, the pairing is also still up in the air. We'll see some more interactions in this chapter as Naruto gradually familiarizies himself with the land of Fiore. After all, wouldn't you want to explore a little? I know I certainly would! Well, I think I've dragged this A/N on long enough, so ya'll know the drill. Read, Review and..._**

**_...ENJOY!_**

_"__All I need is the power to be able to protect my comrades. So long as I can have the strength to do that, I don't care if I'm weaker than everyone in the world._"

_~Erza Scarlet._

**Conception**

The Fiore Kingdom.

A neutral country with a populaton of seventeen million. It is a world of magic. Magic is bought and sold here like anything else, and is deeply engrained in people's lives. There are even some who make a living using magic. These people are referred to as wizards. These people belong to many different guilds and accept jobs brought to them. There are many guilds in this kingdom, and there's a certain wizard guild in a certain town, a guild from which countless legends were once born-nay, one that will continue to create legends well into the future.

Its name is…

…Fairy Tail.

It is here that our young hero has landed.

And it is here that our hero's story _truly_ begins.

* * *

Erza Scarlet prided herself on being practical. She was fifteen years of age, after all. And it not her, then who else would keep order in the guild when the Master was away? It certainly wouldn't be Laxus-the recently promoted S-Class mage was rapidly becoming more and more abrasive with each passing day-and Mystogun was absolutely out of the question. Not to mention Gildarts, who was still away on his infamous One Hundred Year Mission…

No, the task fell to a young Erza Scarlet, to preserve order and practicality within the guild.

But there was nothing practical about this boy.

He was a handsome youth, if intense. His blond hair was disheveled, his blue eyes intelligent, his features balanced. Whisker marks tripled each cheek, cheeks devoid of scars or baby fat or any other definitive feature. Now, he was intense, his visage free of the baby fat that had cursed him in his younger years. Chiseled and nigh but expressionless, that face squinted against the afternoon light; peering up at her as she stood there; a veritable deer in the headlights.

"Where the hell am I?" He asked, his words emerging as little more than a broken rasp. Erza jerked backward as if she'd been _burned._ Just now…his eyes…what was that? She had felt as if she were staring into a pool of overwhelming darkness; as if his prescence might swallow her up, given the slightest provocation. She saw a kind of anxiety settle over the boy, his face pinching, his shoulders gaining tightness as she looked on.

"You are in Fairy Tail." she said at last.

"Fairy…Tail?" The boy blinked, rolling the name over his tongue, sounding it out, and coming away with nothing. Groaning as he sat up, the blond haired boy shook his head a few times to get the stars out of his eyes. Leaning back on his elbows, he breathed in deeply, watching her scrutinizing her. "What's that?"For a moment, just a moment, Erza Scarlet was flabbergasted. How dare he! Everyone knew of their guild! Then she became calm. He was injured. _Right._ He was probably still disoriented, that was all. _Calm._ She needed to be calm.

"What is your name?" She asked abruptly.

"Naruto." The boy answered, sounding surprised. "Uzumaki Naruto."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Uzumaki Naruto." Erza said, extending her hand. "My name is Erza Scarlet." Reluctantly, he took it and shook. "How are you feeling?" He blinked at that, then glanced down at his bandaged chest as if noticing it for the first time. Had he he forgotten about his fall? She waited and she watched, _watched_ as a multitude of emotions flickered across his face, _watched_ as he released her and hand sat up, _watched_ as his head dropped, his eyes hidden in the shadow of his roughened bangs. She had little to no inclination of the roiling thoughts riocheting around inside his skull.

"So where is this…Fairy Tail located, exactly?" Naruto asked with rising dread. "

Erza looked at him as if he'd just sprouted an extra head.

"S-Surely you know of the Fairy Tail guild?" Incredulous, Erza gawked at him. Surely he was joking! "Our guild is the only guild in Magnolia Town." She waited for some sort of reaction, a flicker of recognition, anything at all. Anything to indicate that somewhere in his mind, he knew what she was talking about. Instead, all she got was a small sound of confusion from her blond counterpart.

"What's a guild?" Naruto asked.

He _wasn't_ joking, Erza realized.

"A guild is a places where mages gather." Erza tried to explain. "Surely you know this?"

Naruto shook his head.

"I'm…new to the area."

And yet he knew nothing of mages or magic? Well, it was possible it he wasn't from the Fiore Kingdom. Was this why The Master had taken such an interest in him? Granted, he _had_ crashed through their roof and whatnot, but what did that have to do with her standing orders to watch over him until someone could fetch Makarov? Honestly, it did not make any sort of sense to Erza Scarlet, and she, above all, despised that.

Feebly, she tried to feel him out, to determine what magical power he did or did not have._ It was a mistake._ No sooner had she tried to sense his power than the unthinkable occurred. His eyes flickered_-flashed-_and suddenly she was no longer staring into sapphire. She was staring into sclaret. Ruby red eyes, the color of her own hair, rimmed with black tomoe, lurking just beyond the field of her vision. A voice like thunder reverberated through Erza's skull, shaking her to the core.

**"Most unwise."**

An overpowering sensation of pressure bore down upon Erza Scarlet like an invisible hand. She sensed something enormous nearby, silent in the dark, like a giant passing within arms reach. A gravid deadly prescence too huge to grant her notice. She glanced to Naruto and saw him wince, _wince_ as her, fingertips pressed against her temples. A droplet of blood fell from her nose and she gasped.

"S-Sorry!" Naruto winced as his voice cracked. "Are you alright?"

"I-It's nothing." Erza said, touching a hand to her nose. "I'll just…get a tissue."

Naruto said nothing as Erza left the room, leaving him to his own thoughts. He certainly wasn't in the Five Nations, not anymore. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen anyone other than samurai wearing armor during the Fourth Shinobi War, and this Erza _definitely _wasn't a samurai. But then what did that make her, exactly? Perhaps she wasn't anyone special, just a harmless passerby, a good samaritan who'd discovered him lying on the road somewhere and elected to tend to his wounds. Perhaps not, he mused, as he patted himself down with his hands. With _both_ of his hands.

His eyes bulged.

He had an arm again!

Wordlessly, he worked the fingers of his hands into a familair seal, just in case. He wasn't sure if he was dreaming or if the mechanics of chakra even applied when in a dream but he had to be certain. And he was, in the worst of ways. He'd only meant to summon a single clone. Instead, the room was suddenly swelled with not one, but one hundred clones, each as equally shellshocked as the original when the plume of smoke dissipated.

"Holy-**!**

He clamped a hand over his own mouth lest his words travel any further than they already had.

Spluttering in surprise, Naruto dispelled them, praying that his sudden exclamation had not been enough to draw attention to himself. But when he removed his hand from his mouth, the infirmary was still empty, and he was still safe. Reluctant, he exhaled. That had been close. Way too close.

His memory was one big blank. The last thing he remembered was pain. Excruciating, mind-numbing pain. A pain so intense that he'd hadn't expected to survive it. Then he'd woken up in this bed. And for better or worse, he was stuck here. But where was here, exactly? He didn't even know where _here _was! Guilds? Magic? Just where the heck had that damned dragon taken him!

**"A 'thank you' would be appreciated."**

Naruto stiffened, the hairs on the back of his neck rising as one.

_'You!'_

A familiar, ear shattering laugh crashed down across his ears. He felt himself go cold; as if he'd just been dipped in a vat of ice water. He shuddered. So it was true, after all. This wasn't some convuluted dream. It had been real. All of it. His capture, the backfired extraction, the conversation with the Jyuubi, their subsuquent union, all of it. It was as real as the voice inside of his head, and strangely enough, he wasn't even surprised anymore.

_'So much for this being a dream…_

**"Ha!"**

More laughter from his unwanted tennant.

**"Did you truly think I had forgotten the pact between us, boy?"** Was that a hint of amusement in its tone? **"You have become my host, and, as promised, I shall teach you everything that I know. You will learn to hone and eventually master my powers; the power of a _Ryūjin, _and all the responsibility that comes with that title."**

___'Ryūjin?'_

The Jyuubi offered a strange snort in recompense for its temerity. It might have been laughing. It could have been mocking him. Nsruto wasn't exactly sure, because while he could hear the creature's voice in his mind, clear as a clarion bell, any attempt to make visualize the beast left his senses blurred and muddled. Eventually, he gave up trying to decipher its meaning altogether, no longer caring whether or not it was truly sincere. Eventually, he listened:

**"In your language it means Dragon God. I was the first of them, and now, it seems I am also the last." **The Jyuubi gave the mental equivalent of a shrug. **"There _may_ have been others that came before me. There may yet be others still. If there are, I cannot sense their prescence. It matters not. What _does_ matter, boy, is that we begin your training as soon as possible.**

_'Why?'_

**"If you _have_ to ask then I shouldn't have to explain it to you."**

_'C'mon!'_

**"Impertinent kit."**

_'That's the first time you've called me that.' _He had to fight to subdue his laughter after that, though it was probably they hysteria finally catching up with him.

**"Must've picked it up from that damned fox." **The Jyuubi grumbled.

Naruto _did_ laugh at that one. It felt good. Really _really_ good. He was stranded in a foreign land that he knew little to nothing about. He was hopelessly lost. He likely had no way of ever returning to his home or the precious people he had left behind. But somehow, somehow, the Jyuubi's devil-may-cry sense of humor lifted his spirits. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad, having another demonic beast sealed within his stomach. The prospect of it_-this world-_was still daunting, but at the same time, his curiousity was also piqued.

What wonders awaited him in this realm? What strange sights and sounds would he find as he ventured out in search of himself? The answers were out there, somewhere. All that remained was for him to go forth and find them. And he would find them. He'd been brought here for a reason and-although he had no idea what it was-he was certain it had somethi

**"Going to do a bit of soul-searching are we?"**

_'You're incorrigible, you know that?'_

The Jyuubi never did get to answer that question.

Naruto looked up as the door opened once more. He'd half-expected Erza to return. As a result he wasn't at all prepared when a little old man wearing an impish hat and what looked to be orange shorts and a jacket_-a fine choice of colors in his mind-_entered the room. Naruto didn't quite know what to make of him _or_ the strange staff he carried with alongside him.

"Um…hello?"

The old man blinked his eyes a few times as he saw Naruto and slowly smiled.

"It seems you've recovered." he said.

**"Thanks to yours truly." **The Jyuubi gloated.

_'Shh!'_

Naruto offered a shrug instead.

"If you say that, then it must be true."

The old man nodded and slowly stroked his small beard. He said nothing for a moment and Naruto fidgeted under his gaze. There was something strange about this old geezer something old and ancient and incredibly powerful. He'd never been much of a sensory-type before, but apparently the Jyuubi had changed that, too. Briefly, he wondered just what kind of changes the draconic entity had inflicted upon his beings, but that was another question for another time. Now was the time for words, not action.

"Alright, who're y-

The old man laughed suddenly, silencing whatever Naruto might have said.

"You've got quite a hard head!"

Naruto blinked, aghast.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

The old man simply shook his head.

"When you came crashing through our ceiling like that, I feared the worst." Naruto winced as the wizened old man prodded him his wooden staff. "However, it seems you have quite the nogin there, youngster! Good to see you up and about again!" He paused, casting a significant glance to the door. "I take it you've met our Erza-chan, then?" Naruto was about to give the old man a piece of his mind on this "Erza" character, but refrained upon noticing that the door was in fact, open half a crack.

"She's…kind." He lied through his teeth. Well, technically it wasn't a lie. She seemed nice enough at a glance, at least he hoped so.

The old man laughed.

"It seems you've made quite the impression on her."

Naruto couldn't help but smile at that one, even if he shouldn't have. This geezer reminded him of the Third. Just a little bit. Granted, the Sandaime _was_ a lot taller and maybe a bit older than this guy, but their perosnalites were so strikingly similair that he simply couldn't resist.

"I have a habit of doing that."

The old man's eyes clouded over for a second before they refocused on the young blond in front of him. "You've got the look of a warrior on you, kid. That's not a gaze I should be seeing on someone as young as you. Just what have you been through in your short life?"

Naruto grimaced. He'd been through alot, all things considered. They'd been at war. He'd watched good shinobi_-good men and women-_die in battle. He'd held some of them in his arms as they'd died; as the light faded from their eyes, and known that each of them had died for his sake. Some had been strangers. Most of them had been his friends. it was a terrible burden to bear, knowing that lives were being lost for _his_ sake and Killer Bee's; in the hopes that Madara's plans might somehow be thwarted. And in the end, they'd suffered a crushing defeat. In the end, Madara had won. Only, he hadn't. Because Naruto was still here; because the Jyuubi was within him and Madara was either already dead, or he was dying a slow death in a ditch somewhere after what the Jyuubi had done to him.

…more than I'd like to talk about." Naruto answered at length. "And more than I care to remember."

The old man fell silent for a moment.

"That's quite the tale, you have there." he said. "Are you sure you're not touched in the head?"

Naruto bristled at the remark.

"I'm not crazy, you old fart."

"Haha!" Somehow the old man found that to be funny. "It's been awhile since I've been called anything other than _'Master Makarov'_ by my brats. I keep forgetting that you're not one of them." Naruto shrugged his shoulders and refused to honour him with a reply. "That being said, are you planning on extending your stay awhile longer?" Naruto did a bit of a double-take at that. What the hell was this _jiji_ suggesting?

…I don't understand." he replied.

"You could always join our guild." The old man that he now knew as Makarov, offered. Naruto paused, considering the merit of such an offer. "Fairy Tail is full of prideful brats much like yourself, each with their own share of painful pasts. That is why we strive to live in the day-to-day and focus on our future rather than what we could or should have done in the past, wouldn't you agree?" Naruto nodded at that.

It _was_ a tempting offer.

After being on his own for so many years the last thing Naruto wanted to do was set out on his own again. Alone. He'd much rather stay _stay_ and befriend Erza and the others rather than leave the one place that had shown him hospitality right off the bat. He likely wouldn't see it again in the near future. But he just couldn't bring himself to stay not when he couldn't control his own powers. A loose cannon could indeed be called powerful, but it could also take out those closest to you. He wasn't willing to take that risk yet, not when he wasn't sure of the risks himself.

Naruto smiled, and shook his head.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline, for now. If the world out there is really as vast as you say, than I want to witness it firsthand. I can't tie myself down just yet, at least not in my current state." Turning toward the rest of the guild members he bowed deeply at the waist as he'd been taught.

"Thank you for taking care of me."

* * *

_(Mt. Hakobe)_

Naruto knew he had arrived once the snow reaced his knees. The Jyuubi had given him instructions to make for the nearest mountain-top, and, according to Makarov, Mt. Hakobe was the nearest mountain range for miles outside of Magnolia. Cold wind and bitter hail stung and his cheeks through the thick fur cloak that he wore, threatening to rip it from his shoulders and cast it off into the angry winter sky above.

And still, he trudged on. TThough the storm howled and lashed and ripped and tore at his body, still he pressed onward; one hand raised before his face to shield himself from the punishing atmosphere as he trudged on. He didn't mind the solitude. It gave him time to think, time in which to come to terms with the hand dealt to him by the fates. His would not be a pleasant journey he surmised, if it involved throwing himself to the dogs in such a matter. It also gave him time to talk.

'So is there anything else I should worry about?' Naruto asked as he trekked over a particularly treacherous piece of terrain. 'I'm not going to grow a tail and sprout wings any time soon now, am I?"

**"You needn't worry about any of those."** The Jyuubi answered. **"Given what the transfer put you through, the changes to your body should have been minimal at best. My abilities and those of the other nine should be relatively incact, as should your own."**

Naruto blinked at that one, and nearly lost his footing.

_'Wait a second, so that means I still have _all_ of my abilities? Sage Mode, Kage Bunshin, Rasengan, Rasenshuriken, the whole nine yards?'_

**"You could say that."** The Jyuubi chortled. **"And didn't you get your arm back, if I'm not mistaken? And _I_ didn't die. I think our union went over rather well, all things considered." **Naruto glanced appreciatively at his restored right arm, secretly grateful that he hadn't lost any of his skills in the proccess of regaining it. He was still a shinobi after all. For now. Something about the Jyuubi's statement irked him however…

_'How do you figure?'_

**"Well, you might've developed scales for skin and a terrible rash, among other things. I half-expected you to wake up as a woman, quite frankly." **Naruto gave a shudder at that. The prospect of _looking_ like a dragon, as well as _housing_ one was rather…unpleasant. Let alone having his gender changed. Still, there was a certain humour to be found in the Jyuubi's words.

It was almost likeable, really. In a gruff roundabout sort of way.

**"Stop."** The Jyuubi spoke suddenly, causing Naruto to stop short. **"We will spend the next two years here."**

_'Two years!'_ Naruto guffawed. _'Is it really going to take that long to train me?'_

**"Do you have anything better to do?"**

_'Not really…_

**"Then stop complaining! Now, we'll begin with the basics of Dragon Force."**

_"Dragon…what?"_

**"Bah! Let me show you."**

Naruto winced as scaled ridges etched themselves into his forehead and face, lending his deadly features an almost draconic appearance in addition to his already overwhelming stature. He rolled up his sleeves, alarmed to find the strange, scale like protusions also present upon his forearms. He flexed his fingers and felt claws sprout from his nails as he forced his hand into a fist. Power, great and glorious power thrummed throughout his body, building and swelling like a great wave, demanding release; a release that he found himself providing, as the ground inexplicably cratered beneath him.

"Whoa!"

Naruto's strength suddenly skyrocketed as the_ Jyuubi's _spirit merged with his soul, the dragon lending him all of its strength. The former shinobi stood on shaky legs, the surge of power almost too much for him to handle; the Kyuubi had never lent him this much energy at one time before. Now he was on the receiving end of an incredible amount of energy, a force so fearsome that the heavens themselves trembled in fear. Naruto grinned, feeling as though he could conquer the world. He'd never felt such power before in his life! Even the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode_-though he doubted he could use it anymore-_paled in comparison to this. Such incredible, wonderful power!This power was limitless! He could do whatever he wanted with this power! Anything at all!

**"Tread lightly, boy."** The Jyuubi cautioned. **"Those are the thoughts that led my kind to ruin."**

It was like flicking a switch.

Naruto slammed the lid down on that train of thought before it could consume him. He wasn't like that. He'd seen power corrupt others before; he'd seen the look in the eyes of his best friend when he'd been forced to strike him down. He'd seen power corrupt both men and women, great and poor alike. He wasn't going to turn out that way. Never would he allow himself to become so caught up in his own power that he pushed away those closest to him, just as Sasuke had.

He wasn't going to do that. Not in a million years.

A thin sliver of pride trickled through the connection between him and the Jyuubi. He too shivered at hearing the fullness of his being.

**"Well done. This is the final state of all Dragon Slayers. Dragon Force.** **The most powerful and final state a Dragon Slayer can attain,"** The Jyuubi explained, **"Granting power comparable to that of an actual dragon, and the ability to destroy everything. But your state is more advanced than that. Because a Dragon God is mighty. A Dragon God is strong. A Dragon God is superior; to both Gods and Dragons alike. However, that does not make him invincible. While true strength of a Dragon God cannot be measured, it does not make us invincible. Make no mistake, we _can_ be defeated, and we _have_ been defeated in the past. Never forget that, boy."**

Somehow, Naruto doubted he would.

_'So…what now?'_

**"Now, I will train you until you cannot be defeated."**

_...right.'_

It was going to be a long two years.

**A/N: Hope you liked it! I put a lot of effort into this chapter! We will see a timeskip for chappy three by the way, with Naruto and the gang being two years older, and, thusly, much much closer to canon Fairy Tail. Also, hurrah for the Naruto "Dragon God" Uzumaki! Love him or fear him, women of the world! BTW I lol'ed when writing the dialouge between Naruto and the Jyuubi. Hope you liked it as much as I did writing it!**

**_Ryūjin no Hōkō= Dragon God's Roar!_**


	3. Ryujin

**A/N: Well, here we are after the timeskip! Finally, we get to see the fruits of Naruto's training! Also, as a footnote, he won't show any mercy when faced with unspeakable evil, such as that of a Dark Guild!**

_**Ryujin**_

A little speck of dust swirled up; commanding everyone's attention.

Surely it was the wind.

But the dust didn't settle, and there was no wind tonight. Still, the dust seemed to swirl in one place, gathering in one of the patches of moonlight nearest to the forest. The wind that was not wind became a whirlwind, and then a tiny tornado. Though there was still no wind, something was taking shape, black specks obscuring and spinning at a dizzying pace to the height of six feet. The tornado glowed an iridescent, scintillating shade of blue. Sparks shot out and danced across the earth, wreaking havoc wherever the tornado went.

Taking shape through the tornado was a man, or something like a man. The figure flashed blue, spraying light in every direction, and had anyone been present to witness his arrival, they would have been blinded on the spot. Had anyone witnessed this strange phenomenon, they would have seen it, a figure unlike any they had ever seen. A man. He appeared to be carved from glossy red and black marble or shaped from liquid metal, save for a black-clothed hitiate wrapped firmly around his right bicep.

His clothes weren't so much clothes as skin, though he appeared to wear shoes and was sexless, his whole body was unrelieved black and every contour was crisply defined. He was lean and every muscle was etched, from his shoulders to his V of a chest to his stomach to his legs. There was something wrong about his skin, though. At first, the man or demon or statue made of flesh had reflected light like burnished steel. Now, only parts of him gleamed, the crescents of his biceps, the horizontal slashes of his abdominal muscles. The rest of him faded to glossy whenever the shadows touched his being.

Thunder and lightning danced through the grief stricken afternoon sky as he descended to the battlefield. He was both terrible and handsome to behold. Death and suffering followed him as his stewards. His breath drew a third of the armies sent against him to hell and those that remained were nothing more than a great feast for vultures. He was the one for whom darkness parted and became created...he held the soul of the enemy of all living things...

He appeared in a grass field, where darkness ruled supreme, filling the air with its evil aura. There was a gruesome mound of bodies coated in layers of sludge and sand, and the stench of death was so overpowering that it threatened to destroy his sense of smell. He touched down, alighting upon the field like with nary a sound. A twig snapped as he turned, his eyes widening marginally at the sound.

But nothing happened.

An eerie quiet engulfed the field. Absent was the sound of leaves fluttering in the wind and the roar of monsters. He felt as if he'd somehow been sucked into a silent film. He landed softly on his lower toes first and began surveying the area, his eyes rolling in all directions. As if trying to readjust his focus, his pupils dialated and constricted only to dialate again before eventually coming to a stop. His vision was fixed on something in the far distance.

"It's already been two years," He murmurred absentmindedly, "Well, I suppose now's as good a time as any to try it out, neh?"

He sighed softly as he began walking. If he stepped on grass as he trudged along, it turned to ash that was then swept away in the wind. Before long, countless flashes of light that cut across the darkness shattered the surrounding silence. The earth cracked open, releasing pillars of flames that burst upward through the heavens. Undaunted, he waded through them, the remnants of a blazing cage of burning bone dissipating from his form as he subsuquently emerged unscathed.

"Slow." He scoffed, brushing off imgaginary dust from his chest. "That was too slow."

He blinked, _blinked_ as he regarded the small hillock from which the sudden gush of flame had emerged. A small, faroff cry could be heard in the distance. A cry of dismay. The smallest of smiles graced his visage; a face hardened from two years of training. Slowly he raised his gaze. Sapphire and scarlet glinted as one under the light of the full moon as he stalked toward them, his every step stirring the sand beneath his feet, summoning it to his side. It swirled around him now, deflecting the occasional spurt of magic that strayed too close to the shield; wresting away arrows when they slipped through the ethereal armor; barely registering the mage's last desperate attacks.

"He's coming!" Someone screamed.

They shuddered before him. The fear they felt was similar to a person's deep-seated fear of the dark. There was no logical explanation for why they were afraid. Cold sweat covered their bodies as they trembled. They couldn't stop him. His power was godlike, perhaps even beautiful. There was nothing they could do. They simply could not hope to bring themselves to stand before a god and triumph.

The man laughed; it was a deep, throaty sound.

The tiny azure flames enveloping his body reacted to his laughter and escalated into a blazing fire. The roaring flames wrapped around him and formed a massive pillar that pierced the sky. He set his sights on the horrified mages, and a moment later, enshrouded in fire, he began dashing forward at the speed of light. The first man raised an arm over his head and fireballs came crashing down, only to carrom harmlessly off the intruder's armored hide.

_**"Tetsujin."**_ The man sighed, the steel already flaking from his skin in preparation for his next assault. An assault that would prove to be as mercilessly swift as it would brutal in its entirety. He raised a hand, palm splayed outward as the offending meteors hurtled toward his head. Rimmed irises glinted coldly in the twilight as those deady projectiles roared down to claim his life.

**_"Shinra Tensei."_**

With a dull _whump_ everything imploded.

The earth, the sky, even the mages themselves, everything was simply pushed. Like a pair of giant hands sweeping across the land, the scale of destruction spread bringing a swift oblivion to all those who stood in his way. The earth burst and cratered beneath this unyielding force, wreaking a swathe of destruction that stretched on for many, many miles, even as the last vestiges of the blast fading into nothingness.

The surviors were left stranded, strewn across the hills as they struggled to find their bearings. In the span of a single instant, their base had been destroyed. It was as if God himself had reached down from the heavens to cleanse the earth of their very existence. Not even a footprint remained of the once mighty fortress; its bulwarks struck down, its battlements reduced to rubble-no, even less than that.

And then, as swiftly as his assault had begun, the man chose to end it.

_"Ryūjin no__…_

A _black _magic seal burst before his lips, inviting a torrent of energy to the heart of the plains. The man inhaled and his stomach swelled, then his chest, then his cheeks, as all the while the magic worked its way upward through his body, building into a blinding surge. He thrust his face forward, his lips parted in a defiant scream that rippled forth, from his lips, bursting as it was granted release.

…**Hōkō!"**

Within a gash of blinding light, his breath tore forward and slammed into the mages from the dark guild.

By the time the whole of the Dark Guild did think to drop to the earth, a screen of white and black was discharged without warning. While the land clearly felt the strong pull of the vortex the only ones who absorbed the worse of it were the mages themselves. Unable to believe their eyes nor their ears, these unlucky magicians_-those not already slain by the initial blast-_were dragged from the hills, out of both bar and battle, sent flying through the air like rag dolls. But even in the heavens they found no respite. The clouds themselves turned upon these sinful mages, raining down destruction as lightning and thunder eviscerated their flailing forms; sundering each and every one of them until naught but ashes remained.

Those were swept away by the winds, never to be thought of or seen ever again.

rsting forth in a sea of cerulean light that caused everyone's eyesto bulge in incomprehension.

"It's already been two years...

Two years of brutal, nonstop, torture. Twenty-four months dedicated to the Jyuubi's tutelage. Seven hundred and thirty days consisting of nothing but eating, sleeping and more training; a hellish regiment that he never wanted to experience again. But he'd benefited from it. He could control his power now_-though not as much as he would've liked-_and though he feared to release it in such a populated area, here, with no innocents to harm, no collateral damage to fear, he could wield the full brunt of his powers as they were meant to be wielded.

His current destination demanded restraint. Caution. He could not bring his true might to bear where he would be going; if not for fear of himself, than for fear of those whom he'd be meeting. Indeed, it had been two years since he'd seen them last. Since he'd last seen that fierce girl with the Scarlet hair. His mind wandered when he thought of her her that strange girl who'd looked in the eye without scorn or contempt; who seemed utterly fearless despite the monstrosity he housed within.

Word had reached his ears over the years, hailing her as the feared "Titania" Erza, the famed queen of Fairies. Her name was right up there with "Salamander" and "Gildartz" as well as "Laxus" and "Mystogan" honored amongst countless other legends, all of which seemed to hail from the very guild in which he'd found himself two years before. If there fame was any indication, then she'd become quite powerful.

**"She's still nothing compared to me."**

The man smiled at that.

_By me, I take it you meant us?'_

**"Bah! You know what I mean!"**

He'd long since acknowledged that he housed a monster within his soul. This creature was the sum of all evils, the Jyuubi. The Ten Tailed Beast and a Ryujin, a Dragon God. It had mentored him; given him great power and taught him to use it and more. By all means, he should be grateful to this creature. And he was. But he remained wary. Power, it seemed always came with a price. Whether or not he was willing to pay said price in the end remained to be seen.

**"Now, remember our deal, boy."** The thunderous voice chastised him once more. **"I trained you, as promised. In return, I expect you to make good on your end of the bargain, or so help me I'll-**

_'I never go back on my word, dragon breath.' _The man replied calmly, _You trained me well, so the least I can do is hold up my end of the deal._

**"I never thought I'd be grateful for that damn Nindo of yours. AND STOP CALLING ME THAT!"**

Uzumaki Naruto chuckled.

_'Oh, you know you like it.'_

**"What I'd _like_ is for us to get laid, which isn't happening at the moment thanks to your impertinence!"**

Naruto did his best to restrain his laughter as he prepared to depart in the flashiest way possible. As he did so, he spared one last glance for the ruined remants of earth about him. He'd chosen this area to complete his training solely because of the lack of inhabitants. He hadn't been expecting a visit from one of Tartarus's subdivisions. Still, with his newfound strength, it had been painfully easy to dispose of them. Though he lamented that he'd caused such destruction in doing so.

The earth would heal; given the time to do so.

The Ballam Alliance would not.

With a bright flash of saffron, the blond and his unlikely tennant dissapeared.

* * *

_(Several seconds later, in Magonlia..._

Makarov suddenly cocked his head to the side, as though he were listening intently for something.

"Hmm...

"Is something wrong, Master?" Erza asked.

Makarov's only response was to smile and Erza couldn't help but wonder what that smile meant. The last time Master had worn that smile had been the day that their "guest" had first arrived. Now, two years later, he was wearing much the same smile as he had then. A sudden surge of trepidation filled her. That day, the boy had simply vanished without rhyme nor reason nor explanation; an explanation that she felt had been owed to her.

She could only hope that

The whole of Fairy Tail felt a subtle tremor in the earth, in their very souls. Each of them_-those who were not arguing or too tipsy to stand-_exchanged a nervous glance when that quaint little tremor erupted into a full blown quake that shook the building from the roof to its foundations before vanishing abruptly. Silence prevailed. The whole of the guild had fallen silent in the wake of this sudden natural disaster.

Or was it natural?

Erza jerked her gaze skyward-

Just in time for the roof to implode as a bolt of black and gold hurtled through. It ricocheted around the hall for a moment, slamming into walls, tearing huge chunks out of the floor and ceiling shattering tables and stools alike and generally causing much chaos until it took a hard right. Abruptly it veered, carroming harmlessly off a nearby chandelier and into the floor where it remained with a sharp cry of:

_"Geh!"_

The floorboard cratered as something slammed into them, grinding the wooden planks down and inward. With a sickening screech they gave way and the intruder collided with solid concrete, effectively ending his high speed movement. Dust and dirt burst outward from the impact, effectively blanketing the guild hall in a cloud of thick smoke. Within seconds a familair figure could be seen laying atop the debris caused by his untimely fall.

"Ow...who was the dumbass that decided to use Hiraishin? Oh, right. It was me...ow."

_"Naruto?"_

It was with a fierce joy that Erza Scarlet recognized their so-called intruder. His voice now longer creaked and broke when he spoke as it had before. It was stable. Steady. As fierce as a summer gale and just as unpredictable. Oh. And he'd become rather...handsome since she'd last seen him. And...he was looking at her!

"Yo...Erza, right?" The blond groaned from where he lay. "Long time no see!"

Makarov spared a glance for the ruined roof and shook his head.

"He hasn't changed a bit."

**A/N: In case any of you are wondering, Naruto, being the host of the Jyuubi, DOES have all the powers of the tailed beasts. From the Shukaku's sand to the Kyuubi's regeneration, he as them all. That's not to say he's mastered them all just yet. But he is TERRIBLY powerful, when the situation demands it. But, I digress! Next chapter we'll get to meet the gang all over again as our now supremely powerful "Dragon God"finally joins Fairy Tail! Gotta love Erza's Lol reaction hahaha!**

**R&R! =D**


	4. Initiation

**A/N: Yo! Surgery went well! I gotta say though, I love my new mic =D without it, I wouldn't be able to write at this point! Hopefully I'll be better by the time that new Mass Effect game comes out! Alright, fanboy moment over! I've tried my utmost to keep Erza in character, so I apologize for any ooc moments. She does like Naruto after all and her affections have only grown over two years as has *ahem* the rest of her... **

**Also, the focus may be on Erza for a bit, but fear not! We'll get to see the others soon!**

_A precious friend...a precious bond...this is the reality that I strive for._

_~Erza Scarlet._

**Initiation**

Master Hades was not pleased.

Not at all.

Not only had he presided over the worst defeat in the history of Grimoire Heart, but he'd watched entire subdivisions be utterly eradicated by one man. One man! A man with incredible magical power! A man with abilities hereto unseen in the world of magic! Had he been present himself, Hades would have eradicated this individual on the spot. He was not present at the time however, and had returned with his Seven Kin of Purgatory to find his mobile base in ruins, the survivors scattered, and his finely tailored plans in utter oblivion.

Those few survivors were quite clear on the identity of their attacker. He was a monster. A dragon given human form. He'd descended upon them with wrath and fury, only to retreat the moment the Seven Kin were called for. That troubled Hades. A man such as this was clearly powerful. A god in his own right. Capable perhaps, of even eradicating the Seven Kin by himself. So why retreat? Why live to fight another day, when he could just as easily have wiped them out?

The answer was simple.

He was mocking them. Just as he'd done to Tartarus, just as he'd done to Oracion Seis, not obliterating them, but taunting them, provoking them, proving he could penetrate their defenses with ease, take what he wanted, and leave. And thus far, he was doing a damned good job of it. He wad as close to the Great Magic World, as close to Zeref as any human could ever hope to be. He was even closer than Hades. If he somehow encountered Zeref before they obtained all the keys...the results would be catastrophic.

_"To think that an actual Ryujin still existed in this day and age..._

What's more, rumor had it that he had ties with Fairy Tail. That he would be joining them soon, after two years of harassing guild after dark guild and disrupting ther essential operations, he'd become a part of one the most chaotic guilds in all of Fiorre. Not to mention the most powerful. If_-when-_he joined Fairy Tail, Makarov's guild would become all but unstoppable. For now, he'd have Ultear monitor his movements, in addition to manipulating Jellal. But this was only a temporary solution.

He needed to find a countermeasure for this self-styled Ryujin...

_...and soon._

* * *

_(Meanwhile, Fairy Tail...)_

_"Geh!"_

The floorboard cratered as something slammed into them, grinding the wooden planks down and inward. With a sickening screech they gave way; allowing the intruder to collide with solid concrete, effectively ending his high speed movement. Dust and dirt burst outward from the impact, effectively blanketing the guild hall in a cloud of thick smoke. Within seconds a familair figure could be seen amidst the debris caused by his untimely fall.

"Ow...who was the dumbass that decided to use Hiraishin?" Someone asked from within the gloom. "Oh, right. It was me..._ow."_

Makarov spared a glance for the ruined roof and shook his head.

"He hasn't changed a bit."

Directing his gaze in the direction of the unfortunate blond, he failed to hide a smile. Oh well. Roofs could be repaired. The precious bond between nakama could not. And by the looks of it, Erza Scarlet was well on her way to forming a bond all her own...

_"Naruto?"_

It was with a fierce joy that Erza Scarlet recognized their so-called intruder. His voice now longer creaked and broke when he spoke as it had before. It was stable. Steady. As fierce as a summer gale and just as unpredictable. Oh. He'd become rather...handsome since she'd last seen him. And...he was looking at her! She felt her cheeks flare a deep scarlet, matching her hair and moniker flawlessly.

"Yo...Erza, right?" The blond groaned from where he lay. "Long time no see." He made a move to rise and his face crumpled in pain. "I'm kinda stuck here. If its not too much to ask...could you give me a hand?" Erza blinked, taking a moment to comprehend what he'd said. Then her eyes flew wide. What on earth was wrong with her? She was an S Class Mage! She shouldn't be standing around like this!

"O-Of course!"

Groaning, the blond began to extricate himself from the rubble. He seemed relatively unharmed. _Wait._ Was that sand surrounding him? Indeed it was. As she drew nearer to him, she could see it, the sand, splayed out around him as if to cushion his impact. Was _that_ why he'd hadn't sustained any damage despite his fall? Before she'd the chance to question him it buzzed violently, reacting to her sudden proximity. Then it swarmed; a veritable tsunami of sand rushing to greet her. It never reached her. Naruto offered an open palm in recompense for his temerity and the tide ebbed, falling flat and limp at Erza's feet.

Erza gawped.

Naruto could control sand like Max? But how? Naruto hadn't displayed anything like that two years ago. For a terrifying breath, her pinnioned her with his gaze, with eyes that shone a terrible, rimmed, tomoe filled violet. Even as she looked on the sand receded, withdrawing into a small fist-sized gourd bound at his hip. He'd been able to produce so much sand from that tiny container? She caught only a glimpse of it_-and several others-_before the blond drew back in his cloak. Then he blinked and the terrifying glimmer of power was gone. Sapphire shone in place of magenta; subsiding as his sclera brightened into white.

"Sorry about that." The blond laughed mirthlessly as she pulled him out of the crater. "Looks like I nearly brought the house down again."

Erza gulped, this time very loudly. Two years ago, she'd received a glimpse of his power. As alluring as it had been back then, it had changed. _Now it was intoxicating._ She felt herself warm at the thought of taking his hand. She took it anyway and hauled him forward. Perhaps a bit too roughly. Her eyes flew wide and wider still as Naruto lurched out of his concrete prison, the sudden strength with which she'd pulled causing him to tumble forward onto her.

Naruto had time for one thought and one thought only:

_Shit._

Then his tenant started laughing.

Her eyes shot open in surprise; his kiss was cool but gentle, his two lips caging her upper lip between them. She wanted to kick him, to scream out in anger, but she was completely overwhelmed by him as she released his wrist and cupped his cheek with her hand. Her eyes were closed, so she didn't see his bulge in incomprehension. She soon found herself returning the kiss, deepening it as she opened her mouth and slid her tongue out and against his. She reached upwards with her arms and wrapped them around his neck as she pulled his body closer to hers-

-only to have him jerk backward.

_Violently._

"Shit!" Naruto swore a blue streak as he righted himself, suddenly aware of everyone's eyes upon him. "Shit shit _shit!"_ He hadn't meant to do that! If there was one thing he'd learned about redheads from his mother, it was that they _always _had a temper. He wasn't sure how Erza would react after the unintentional kiss. She might very well beat him into a blissful oblivion, considering he might have stolen her very first kiss. Slowly she picked herself up, refusing to meet his gaze. And then he saw it. Her cheeks.

They were burning. Not red with rage as he'd expected, but a light, dusty pink. The way she held herself, the way in which she averted her eyes and refused to even so much as look at him, everything screamed infatuation. Oh god. Naruto nearly slapped a hand to his forehead, but he feared that any sudden movement might set the guild into true fury and cue a feeding frenzy on Erza's behalf.

That was the last thing he wanted. Just as the last thing he'd wanted was to kiss Erza!

_Wait a sec! _Naruto stopped himself. _I did not just think about how sweet, and tasty her lips were! They were soft, though. And warm. And-no, NO! This is wrong! Stop thinking about it!_

**"Excellent!"** The Juubi praised him. **"Claiming the finest female for yourself, right off the bat! You make this old dragon proud! Now how about that little white-haired wench over there? She seems rather fiery to me, for a goth!" **A perverted cackle clanged throughout his mind. **"Oh, wait! What about the one with the beer keg over yonder? Or perhaps-**

_'Urusei!' _Naruto, red in the face, forced his desires down and bound them, caging the fantasies within his mind_. 'You'll only make things worse!'_

**"As if you'd have it any other way!"** The Ten-Tailed Dragon snapped back. **"You've been living like a monk these past two years, boy! That's something I plan to change as soon as possible!"**

_"You didn't!"_ Naruto exclaimed aghast, stealing a glance at Erza. _"Damnit, dragon-breath! I told you _not_ to screw with my pheremones! The last thing I need is a mob of horny women coming after me!"_

**"I admit nothing!" **His tenant responded tartly.** "If, on the off chance I _were_ to do such a thing however, having a harem would do you some good! You haven't had a wench once despite all the beauties surrounding you!"**

_"Aha!"_ Naruto exulted. _"Then you DO admit to influencing her!"_

**"I said I admit nothing!"** The dragon snarled, bringing their arguement to an end. **"As much as you might like to think I held a hand in your little makeout session, I had nothing to do with it. I may be a god in this realm, but even I cannot create feelings where feelings do not exist. If they do exist, I merely manipulate them in my favor. Blame the girl for developing a crush on you two years ago, and curse her for her clumsiness that caused you to lose your second kiss!"**

Naruto felt his cheeks begin to burn at the mention. Regrettably, he'd lost his _first_ kiss to Uchiha Sasuke. He'd had nightmares about it for a month. But he'd never kissed a girl since. Well the crazy lady who'd been so hellbent on his chakra didn't count. He didn't even want to think about that one. So technically_-technically!-_Erza Scarlet was his second kiss, albeit an unintentional one.

But just looking at her made him want a third.

**"That can be arranged."** The Juubi whispered darkly. **"I'm sure she wouldn't mind a third or a fourth, or maybe even a-HEY!" **The great dragon god cried out in both anger and protest as its host clamped down on their connection and silenced its voice.

Naruto ruthlessly suppressed his tenant's power. He _could_ control it, but when the Juubi saw a beautiful woman such as Erza Scarlet, it tended to have a mind of its own. Now, more than ever, he needed to exercise control. Easier said than done. to mention Who had breasts like that! Erza Scarlet did. How was that possible? She'd been flat as a plain two years ago. Was it even possible for her breasts to have grown so large? And why did he have the sudden urge to take them between his lips and kiss them? Oh dear. That was wrong. He shouldn't be thinking that.

The beast's power was all inside him now. Independent. Powerful. It welled up at the thought, threatening to burst through the dam that held back his emotions; threatening to try and overwhelm the beleagured blond.

"I must apologize for my crude behavior, Naruto-dono!" Erza, clearly believing the kiss to be her fault, jerked her head down as she bowed. "It is my fault entirely. Please, hit me as my punishment!"

Naruto flushed.

"Well, there's no need to go that far...

"Please, I insist!"

"Look, I really don't feel alright about hitting a woman, its just not in my nature-

_"Who the hell do you think you are, teme!"_

Naruto ducked as a flaming fist swept over his head. He didn't have to evade the blow, not really, but in doing so he was able to gain a glimpse at his attacker. The first thing he saw was pink hair. Sakura? His blood ran cold. Then he saw the scaled scarf, saw the scorching flames boiling toward him,Nope. Definitely not Sakura. Naruto raised a hand, the element dissolving harmlessly against his palm as he absorbed it. Grabbing his opponent's wrist, he hauled them forward and into an open palm.

His attacker hadn't been expecting that.

"Natsu!" Erza exclaimed aloud. "Stop that this instant!"

_"Natsu?"_ Naruto blinked, pausing in his attack, his surprise providing just enough of an opening for the boy to strike. His head snapped back with a sharp _crack_ as a flaming fist tore through his defenses and cracked across his jaw. All it did was expose a small, hairline fracture in his skin, one that healed as swiftly as it formed. The sand armour wasn't anywhere near as effective as Gaara's, but against attacks like this, it did the trick. A single thought and the sand snared him and held fast; binding him long enough for Naruto to give the lad his full attention.

"Oi oi _oi..._what was that for?" Naruto asked the boy who'd struck him. Because this was indeed, a boy. He looked to be perhaps fifteen or sixteen years old, and wore little in the way of clothing, his attire consisting of the aforementioned scarf, open vest, and plain white slacks.

"Keep your hands offa Erza!"

_"Excuse me?"_

Natsu's back met the wall then his face the floor as Naruto levered him into the earth. _Not gently._ Imagine his surprise when the boy bounded back up, rearing for a fight. He spat a globule of flame, and Naruto raised his palm to greet the fire for a second time. It evaporated harmlessly upon contact, streaming off his skin like sweat. Sure, it made his skin nice and warm, but other than that, he felt nothing. He was still acclimitating to extraordinary powers of the Rinnegan, and the toll it exacted upon him.

"How the hell're you doing that!" Natsu demanded.

"That's for me to know and you to _never_ find out." Naruto said, the violet irises and swirls of Rinnegan snapping into existence once more. Natsu brought his fists up again, he took a step forward-

And Erza bopped him on the head.

"I said that is enough, Natsu!" She snapped as the boy rubbed the rising welt on his cranium. "Naruto-dono is an honored guest of this guild! If you attack him again, I'll have to punish you and Gray! Understand?"

"Why me!" The ice magician called from across the room.

**"UNDERSTAND?"**

"H-Hai!"

The youth cringed before her wrath, as did most of the guild.

"You're looking well." Makarov grinned from his perch on the bar.

"You could say that." Naruto chuckled.

"I've heard rumors of your work over the last two years." The master continued. "You've been quite the busy bee, haven't you?"

A grimace of self-castigation.

"So you heard about all that, huh?"

"Yes, I did." Makarov's gaze strayed toward their new sunlight. "So? I take it you're going to repair the damage you've caused?"

Naruto sweatdropped, following the elder's gaze

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, but I am!"

"Fine." The blond grumbled as Makarov took out the Fairy Tail insignia. "But this better not cut into my pay!"

Erza blinked, pausing in her verbal beratment of Gray and Natsu.

"Master?" She inquired with disbelief as Naruto rolled up his sleeve. "Does this mean...

Makarov only grinned.

"Where would you like it, Naruto-boy?"

Naruto offered his wrist, and accepted the Fairy Tail stamp. He smirked as the symbol of saffron embroidered itself into his skin, marking him as a member of the guild. He'd spent the last two years of his life learning to control this power, to harness his now massive reserves of chakra-turned-magic. With all of his old abilities intact, plust several new and unforseen ones, he was at last ready to take his place in the guild.

"Listen up, brats!" Makarov cackled! "I give you the newest member of the Fairy Tail family! Naruto "_Ryujin"_ Namikaze!"

* * *

_(Later that Night)_

"Erza!" He whispered as he entered her room, "I need to talk to you." He felt that he needed to apologize for the afternoon's events. That, and to silence the perverted dragon in his head. So, without even pausing to consider the consequences, he'd gone to her room as soon as he was able. The only problem was that it was evening, and it was clear and, well...

It was dark.

"Erza!" He hissed into the darkness.

**"Just go in already, coward!"**

_'Shut up!'_

_There. He heard something in the gloom. A sound, a sigh, a soft whisper, and the rustling of cloth._

_"Is someone there?"_

_"Light."_ he murmured. The word burst from him with a little pop, lighting their immediate area with a golden glow. He reached out to pull her close in the same moment, arm ready to trap. His fingers brushed the smooth bare skin of her waist as she backed away. For a moment she stood motionless. Her lush lips were parted, ruby red hair lofting around a pale, beautiful heart-shaped face, brown eyes flecked with black and wide with surprise.

"Naruto-san?"

He stared back at her, sharing an equal measure of astonishment. She was the most stunning woman he'd ever seen. He hadn't been expecting that. He'd realized she might be naked, but even so, he hadn't been expecting it. Naruto took a step backward, hands splayed. She dissolved as soon as he moved. A vision of beauty one moment, gone the next in a shriek of anger and indignation.

_"Ecchi!"_

Naruto flung his hands for his face and prepared himself for the pain.

Erza was blushing, her cheeks dusted a faint, eager red.

She'd proccured a sheet from the bed and wrapped it around herself. The thin blanket did not do her body justice. Naruto gawped, eyes flying wide. In her haste to cover her extremities, Erza had wound the garment too tightly across her bosom and, well, the rest of her body. Damn but she looked fine. What a difference two years had made! She had a body that would make a goddess green with envy, and an angel flush for shame.

"D-Don't look so soon...okay?" Erza flushed, mistaking his stare for something else.

Naruto swooned.

_'Is she serious?'_

**"She'd better be!"** The Juubi cackled. **"Assuming control!"**

_'Wha-HEY!'_ Naruto protested as he felt his limbs move of their own accord. _'We talked about this!'_

**"You'll thank me later!"**

And the next morning, Naruto actually _did_ thank his tenant.

**A/N: ROTFL! Assuming control! I couldn't help myself! Yes the pairing is officially harem! The lovely Erza Scarlet will of course be a part of it! Be sure to let me know if any of you have any ideas (if you haven't already mentioned them) and I will be sure to take them into consideration! We'll get to see the rest of the lovely ladies, Cana, Mira, Levy, etc, as of next chappy, so let the haremy goodness begineth! Who knows? I might even include Ultear...**

**Sorry if it is short! But the next STEAMY chapter will more than make up for the little tease I've given you thus far...I promise!**

**R&R! =D**


	5. Room and Board

**A/N: Behold! Convergence is the next to be updated! It might be short, but it at least proves that this story is back on track. As for the timeline, well, I think I've made it quite obvious that Lucy hasn't joined the guild yet. Meaning everything's pretty much the same just...no Lucy. Not yet. Laxus is also S-Class, meaning Mira and Erza have yet to make that rank just yet. Now, to answer some questions and offer explanations.**

**Is Naruto stronger than Gildarts? Good question. Still not sure on the answer. Will Naruto make S-Class? DEFINITELY. With a powerhouse like the Jyuubi sealed up inside him it's inconceivable for him NOT to make S-Class. Who will be in his harem? Erza, for starters. This chapter pretty much cements that. I'd like to include Mirajane and Cana as potential candidates as well, hopefully you'll like that =D And will any other Naruto characters make it into this fic? If any of them do it'll only be a handful at most, if at all. Can't go ruining the novelty of this story now, can we?**

** Regardless, the next few chapters prove to be quite interesting, so up and onward we go!**

_"Did I just do what I think I did?"_

_~Uzumaki Naruto._

**Room and Board**

Erza Scarlet stirred the next morning to the sound of storms. Propping herself up upon her elbows the busty redhead rose from her bed, idly shivering as the smooth satin sheets caressed her skin. She soon realized just just why the sheets felt so smooth against her body. Because she was naked. Not naked from the waist down or the waist up mind you. Naked as the day she was born...and swadlled in bite marks. Gasping, she stole a glance down at herself, at the hickeys covering her neck and breasts; and yes, those were in fact _teeth_ marks on her skin, the flesh having purpled lightly overnight. Who could've possibly done such a thing to Erza with so little time to spare?

_Naruto came last night._ A nasty little voice reminded her. _Have you considered he also saw you naked? That's be enough to drive most men over the edge. And damn but it was a BIG edge..._

Unable to believe her eyes, unable to understand what had happened, she cast about for her surroundings. Her feather bed bore a vicious tear down the middle, white plumage taking flight from the jagged tear, while the banister lay sundered and broken behind her as though some cataclysmic force had taken it in either hand and wrenche it in half. The sheets themselves were stained with blood evidence of her maidenhood having been pierced the night before. Her cheeks flamed at the very thought of it and she curled sheets closer about herself...

Only to wince as a deafening peal of thunder split the sky outside.

Subsquently deafened by the wrath of heaven, she though she heard a storm.

But thunder didn't speak. Thunder did not have a voice, nor did it rise and fall with the tide of magical power. Tying the sheet tightly about herself, Erza forced open a French window, the clasp neatly coming undone in her hands, and peered outside. What she saw there lefther blood frozen with the coming winter. Dark clouds billowed high overehead, threatening rain. Threatening but its bluff was caled by the dry cobblestone streets of Magnolia Town, for the sky refused to readily surrender its supposed bounty.

Winds lashed at the streets and scoured stones clean; the harsh gale driving happless commoners indoors, to seek shelter from whatever it was that was might cause such a disturbance in the atmosphere. Becuase the storm was brewing, the heavens looming overhead like a wrathful tyrant, prepared to lash out at the slightest provocation. And it seemed they just

Naruto stood at the center of it all; still as a statue, silent as a god. His bright, blue eyes, blazed ahead upon a young mage. _Laxus Dreyar._ He'd been S-Class for a mere two years now and already, the arrogance of his position claimd him. Was he going to challenge Naruto to a fight, Erza wondered? It certainly seemed so. The blonde's stared one another down, neither willing to break the silence between them, refusing to shatter the tentative impasse they'd claimed. And then Laxus broke it.

"Gramps tells me you're strong." he said.

Naruto shrugged.

"I guess."

Laxus laughed.

"Oh, and he's modest, too!"

If the blond was offended by his senpai's quip, he did precious little to show it.

"Look, buddy, I don't know what your beef is with me, but can it wait?" His mouth stretched in a wide yawn. "I'm cranky this early in the morning." The heavens rumbled, lending weigh to those words. Erza couldn't be certain who had summoned the storm now. Was it Laxus, or the bashful blond standing before her? She could no longer be certain of either. Her only certainy was thus: she was about to witness a battle for the history books, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Despite that, she felt obligated to at least make the attempt.

"Stop this!" She cried. "Both of you."

She was cursing herself even as the words left her lips.

Laxus rounded on the sound, his gaze snapping toward the window with obvious intent. Toward her. A sting of resentment shone in his eyes and stabbed at her breast. They'd been close once, a long time ago. Friendly, even. She'd confided in him and he in her and for a brief, bitter moment, all was well. Then came the exam and with it, Laxus's ascension to S-Class. Two years ago. It had come down to the two of them. Laxus and her one on one, the prize, S-Class. He'd beaten her soundly to claim the title for himself, leaving her broken and humiliated. Any friendship they might've shared did that day, as did a young girl's heart.

Still, she could see the hurt in his eyes. The pain, the agony of betrayal. Of knowing that she'd chosen another; that she'd taken smeone else as her first time. Any hope they might've ever had of reconciling died in that moment. And when he spoke, it was with a venom that silenced the younger mage.

"So, you bedded Titania already, eh, Uzumaki?" He laughed, every word dripping with scorn. "Well, I suppose _trash_ belongs with trash, after all."

For the first time since their banter had begun, Naruto's face lost its perpetual smile.

"I don't see how that's any of your damn business, Laxus-san."

The S-Class mage shrugged.

"And I don't see how its any of _your_ business boning the first girl you see-

_He never even heard the boy move._

One moment he stood across from him, arms folded and eyes narrowed, blazing with hate. The next, blue orbs like winter skies filled the entirery of his vision. Fingers clenched into a claw, passed through empty air as the lightning mage flung himself backward and to safety. He touched a hand to his cheek, alarmed to find a series of bloody streaks there, not unlike the blonde's own whiskers. Naruto rolled up his sleeve, revealing the claws and the sinister scales lining the length of his arm, blackening the limb in eerie hues of black and crimson. Erza balked at the sight of them. Even she, young as she was, knew the legend.

_"Dragonforce?"_

_**"One more word and I won't be held responsible." **_the Ryujin warned, his voice black as pitch._**"For what happens to you."**_

Laxus blinked.

"I'd like to see you try."

"..."

_"Point."_

Seeing no point in further banter, he lunged, hurtling powerful lightning infused bolt at the Ryujin's head. He had smashed countless opponents this way before and he saw no reason why such tactics would fail him now that he had the upper hand. Naruo fought back smartly, less recklessly than Erza would've expected. He ducked and weaved, evading the worst of Laxus's bolt and blows, maintaining a careful distance between the two of them at first. Then he closed the distance. It was slow; a riposte here, a parry there, but it was inexorable. Each move brought him onestep closer to the lightning mage; each footfall forcing the young Dreyar to alter his aim until even that became a feat in-and-of itself.

Erza could see the surprise dawning in his eyes.

_'Why can't I hit him?'_ Laxus thought as the blond bobbed and weaved through the storm, effortlessly evading the best of his blasts._ 'Speedy little bastard...! And he's getting too close for my halberd. Fine.'_ Bemused, he lowered his hands, ceasing the volley. _'You want to get up close and personal? Let's get personal.'_

At last, realizing that long range attacks were no longer an option, Makarov's grandson stepped forward to meet Naruto with fist raised. Hands imbued with years of hand-to-hand combat experience weaved an intricate tappestry of fists, elbows, knees and boots in an attempt to piece the blonde's inviolable defense. The fuck...was that sand on his fists? He had no time for further thought however, as the clouds finally surrendered with a silent sigh. The first of what would prove to be many raindrops sruck Dreyar between the eyes, and it was in that moment that the Ryujin began his counterattack.

_"My turn."_

Naruto retaliated, throwing surgical jabs and strikes at the Dreyar's sides. A rabbit punch to his solar plexus was followed almost instantly by a blow to his ribs. Naruto absorbed the bolts stoically. He was no stranger to pain. It would take more than a few hits to keep him down. They fought in the middle of the street, surrounded by the storm. Laxus found himself impressed by the boy's skill and stamina, especially considering that he wasn't even an S-Class yet. When Laxus lashed out with his lightning, however, Naruto didn't retaliate. _He attacked._

_**"Ryujin no Saiga." (Dragon God's Fang)**_

Grey eyes bulged as a harmless parry turned into a lunging upercut and an upurned palm; the smoldering fist sheathed in dread light cracking across his jaw with more than enough force to stagger him. Erza felt just a touch of pity for Laxus, even as she herself nodded. Naruto was holding back. Whatever dread power he wielded, this was not the full extent of it. Not by far. And yet this, a mere one tenth, of his power, was enough to make the heavens themselves weep? If he were ever to unleash his true power. She shuddered at the thought. Not just for herself but for the entire world. Her hand resting against the windowsill, Scarlet forced herself to peer through the thick curtain of rain and watch as the two combatants continued to lay into one another.

"Not bad!" Laxus hollered, lowering his still smoking hands. "You know how to pull your punches.."

He burst into a bolt of lightning and surged toward them.

_"But I don't!"_

Naruto's hand cracked out and the heavenward bolt was sent hurtling back into the heavens where it belonged. His eyes had changed once more. Blackened violet eyes shifted, tracking Laxus's lightning form as it took a hard right and carrommed off the girl's dormitory. Naruto kicked the ground once and the earth erupted, spewing debris into the air. His fists collided with the shards of sharpened shrapnel, hurtling the deadly spears of earth at the mage just as he materialized, alighting upon a nearby lampost. Naruto stomped a second time and suddenly he was hurtling toward Laxus, even as the elder mage dispensed with the deadly projectiles a half instant earlier.

His hands otherwise occupied, Laxus could only grunt as the blond lunged forward into the rain and caught his throat in his grasp. Despite the difference in height and their precarious position, the boy hoisted him forth as though he weighed no more than a child. He slammed Laxus into the concrete street, hard enough to dash any other man's brains out. Before the thunder mage could rise he felt the blonde's boots press down upon his ribcage, forcing him to become one with the road once more.

"Cocky little...!" he reached for the entrapped heel. "You think this'lll hold me?!"

Naruto cocked his head like an inquisitive child.

"I don't expect it to, actually."

"Eh?"

White teeth split open in a defiant roar, revealing the geyser of dark crimson lurking at the back of the blonde's throat. A blackish magic circle burst into existence beneath their feet, effortlessly encompasing Laxus and Naruto both, but it was the _former_ who felt fear as the latter brought his gaping maw to bear and spat down upon him.

**"Ryujin no...**

Laxus muttered an impreciation under his breath.

_**...HOKO!"**_

Cold fury burned the world white.

Rain evaporated. Stone crumbled. For all the power behind the blast, if affected a remarkably narrow area. Most registered it as an earthquake, and only Laxus Dreyar experienced the true brunt of its terrible power. He experiences the white-hot flame; the terrible energy that was merely a tenth of the Juubi's true power. He'd later realize just how incredibly foolish he'd been to challenge someone bearing the title of ryujin. But for now he lolled helplessy against Naruto's shoulder as Erza looked on helplessly, as the battered blond rose from the crater he'd created, the battered body of his senpai slung over his back.

"Well this is one helluva way to start a morning." he grumbled. An errant glance at the sky confirmed that it was indeed his own power which summoned the storm and it was he who banished it just as quickly. Sunlight peeked meekly, tentatively through the clouds, as though afraid of rousing the dragon-god's wrath once more. Birds reluctantly resumed their chirping. Startled townsfolk emerged from their homes, amazed to find the blond standing there, utterly unharmed, despite the vicscious gales ripping through the streets only moments before.

**"Bah."** Juubi snorted. **"He had it coming. Now, why don't we get back to our wench-**

_'Sh-Shut up!'_ Naruto snapped back, cheeks burning. _'I still haven't forgiven you for that!'_

**"Nonsense!"** The great dragon scoffed.**_ "_I did you a favor! You were living like a monk! Now, about that goth girl...**

_"Mirajane?"_

**"Oh-ho! So you _do _remember her! And what do you remember?" **It prodded.

_"She's hot, I guess."_ Naruto relented. _"In a dangerous, pyschotic sort of way**.**_

**"Good."**

_"Oh no."_ The ryujjin shook his head. _"Hell no! I am not sleeping with her!"_

Dread laughter within his mind said otherwise.

**"Honestly, you're such a downer kit...Uh-oh."**

_'Whaddya mean uh...oh."_

"Is that..._Laxus?"_ Someone whispered, pointing at the unconcsious mage slung about his shoulders. Naruto stiffened, suddenly aware of all eyes upon him. Of all the voices, a sursurs of whispers, a cacophony of sound, talking about him. He tried to dissuade them, tried to speak up, but to no avail. They grew louder still, a clamor of cries and excitment as they beheld the destruction, and the apparent victor.

"Holy-it is!" Another exclaimed.

"But who's the other guy?"

"He's got the mark of Fairy Tail on him!"

"Who is he?!"

"Who cares! He defeated Laxus!"

"He's kinda cute...

_'Aaaaaand that's my cue.'_

Naruto balked, as though only just now realizing the consequences of his actions. Taking down an S-Class mage was a guaranteed way to ensure your own infamy. Infamy was the last thing he wanted. Casting about in his haste for an escape route, he found one, just as Erza scampered back to the window and slammed it shut behind her. Sighing, she turned round-

Rimmed, tomoe filled violet blazed upon her, pinnioning the redhead mage with a terrifying glare.

Erza couldn't quite contain her squeak of surprise.

"Ah...Naruto!"

"Erza," He began slowly, "I need a favor."

"A-Anything!"

"I need you to...

"To?"

Brown eyes fluttered open and shut with all the rapidity of a hummingbird's wingspan; alongside the frantic beathing of her heart. _Thud-thud-thud. _Its incessant rhythm swelled within her ears like the drums of a great hunt, out for her blood. She was suddenly all too aware of her horrific lack of atire; of the thin sheet, all that separated her from his body and a second bout of intimacy. Thank god he was wearing clothes. She couldn't bear to keep her hands off him if he was naked. He cheeks burnished at the thought, leaving her body warm.

...let me stay here for awhile." The blond begged piteously. "At least until those damn idiots outside go away!" He summoned a clone and sent Laxus off wth it leaving the two of them alone in the room. Her room...the very same room in which they'd made love hours before. The same room which smelled of him and her. Still, a small part of her-an increasingly small part-sought to convince him otherwise.

"I'm...I'm not sure I-

_"Please!"_

Erza stared at him for a moment longer, incredulous. Why was he so terribly afraid of attracting attention to himself? He certainly hadn't cared about wanton desctruction when he fought against Laxus. And now he was asking to stay with her. Her! The very same one he'd slept with. Thousands of thoughts whisked their way through the redhead's mind, on in particular: how might she take advantage of this? To her initial relief an idea laid itself at her feet soon thereafter. She turned it over in her mind a moment longer before seizing upon it. Perfect!

"Alright." She conceded, nodding. "I'll let you stay."

The blond heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank god!"

"On one condition." she added.

"Name it!"

Erza pulled him to her and pressed her lips to his with such ador, it took his breath away.

"I...ah...Erza...what?" He sputtered, breaking away from breath. "The...condition?"

"I just named it." she breathed, huskily, dragging him backto the bed.

"The condition_...is us."_

**_"Lucky bastard." _**The Juubi grumbled to itself, grinning. **"Enjoy her while you can..." **If it had its way, its host would be sharing this bed with more than one woman. Many more.

Many more indeed...

**A/N: Aaaaaand there you have it. Trouble in paradise already, with Naruto being forced to expose some of his true power just to get Laxus to back the f**k off. Unfortunately he's gone and gotten half the town interested in him as a result, meaning it'll be all but impossibe for him to lay low any longer. And DAYUM Erza! Manipulative, forceful little thing when she wants to be, isn't she? We will see Things heat up next chapter as we meet more candidates for the harem, which STILL requires your opinions and reasons and votess! So...**

**...REVIEW, would you kindly?**

**R&R! =D**


	6. Ties that Bind

**A/N: I'm back! You can puth the torches and pitchforks away now! I know its been nearly three months since I've updated this, and for that, I'm sorry! I've been exceedingly busy, both with work and family matters, as well, as cleaning up a few things. With that, I'd like to correct an error I made in the author's note of last chapter****. Erza and Mira are already S-Class. Meaning that Lisanna is still very much alive. **

**There will still be an S-Class Exam, and Naruto will have to participate in it! And, on other news I am now updating my fics again! My muse won't leave me be when it comes to new stories, but that sure as hell doesn't mean I can't update my older ones! And...while we're on the clarification I ought to put this out there ****Erza, and Mirajae were roughtly fifteen/sixteen when Naurto left, making them now around seventeen, setting the current timeline at nearly a YEAR before Lucy joins the guild. Now...**

**...Onto the next chapter of Convergence!**

_"Now wait just one damn minute!"_

_~Mirajane Strauss._

**Ties that Bind**

_"I thought you said no one would notice."_

Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto growled out these words as Erza Scarlet let him through the guild. Hand in hand. He'd vehemently objected to it at the time-he wasn't trying to draw attention to himself!-but one look from the mage and her wide black eyes did him in. How the hell was he supposed to say no to those puppy-dog eyes?! Now he silently seethed beneath the stolen glances and heated whispers, unable to remedy them with anything short of outright violence. And he was serious contemplating the latter at this very moment!

"Well...not everyone has noticed...

Naruto sweatdropped. Erza wasn't showing him off, was she?

"Oi oi oi...

**"Why are you sulking?"**

_'You know damn well why!_' Naruto hissed back, doing his best to ignore the Jyuubi's smug tone. _'I've been here less than twenty-four hours and already I've bedded someone!' And now **apparently** she's decided it'll be a great idea to show me around to the guild!_

**"Well its not MY fault if we have a weakness for women now, is it?"**

_'Would you kindly be quiet?!'_

**"I already told you, that doesn't work on me! And do you honestly mean to tell me you don't enjoy holding her hand?"**

_'Well...no. I quite like it, actually..._

**"See! I knew it! And its not like anyone will notice..."**

Naruto groaned. Their bickering made his battle with Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Madara look like a cakewalk!

The way the redhead kept risking the occasional peek at him; her soft eyes risking furtive glimpses over her shoulder...how could anyone _not_ notice that?! Ever since he'd slept with her-and pounded Laxus to a pulp-he found the armored mage was almost always at his elbow. She'd claimed no one would notice; that she was just being good to show him around. Mirajane Strauss had noticed. And being Mirajane Strauss, she'd decided to comment on it.

"Since when did you two get so chummy, Scarlet?" she asked, sidling up to them with a sly smile. Naruto bit back a sigh; his memories of the takeover mage were vague but he remembered they hadn't gotten along all that well until and before his departure. Nor had they left on any uncertain terms...

* * *

_(Flashback)_

"What, you're leaving already?"

Naruto stopped in his tracks, his face slowly appearing over his shoulder as he curiously regarded the one who had spoken. A look of irritation crossed his single eye as it regarded the gasping mage behind him. He was already at the gates of Magnolia Town, the setting sun the lone witness to his departure. Or so he'd thought. He'd already said his goodbyes back the guild. The last thing he'd expected was for one of their mages to try and follow after him.

"Mirajane...right?" he asked. "Why're you following me?"

"I-I'm not following you, baka!" The girl protested. "I just wanted to get an answer out of you!"She turned aside, flushing. "Baka...

"What did you want to ask me again...?"

The girl squirmed uncomfortably beneath his gaze.

"Are you seriously leaving?"

The boy nodded.

"Yup."

"Just like that?"

_"Uh-huh."_

Naruto saw no point in denying the obvious. His wounds had healed as best they could, his bags were packed, his mind, made up. All that remained was for him to depart; to set foot out of Magnolia Town and make for the mountains. Little did he know he would be standing in this very spot two years in the future; two years after he'd mastered his newfound powers and learned to control his sight. He didn't yet know this, not yet. He knew only that he had to leave. That he had to train. Until such a time he was no longer a danger, neither to himself nor others.

"You gonna come back?"

The question caught him flat-footed. Come back? He hadn't thought of it.

"Am I going to what now?"

"I said...are ya gonna come back?" Mirajane placed a hand upon her hip and glowered at him, pinnioning the blond with a gaze. "What, did that fall fuck up your hearing, too?"

"N-No!" Naruto sputtered, defensive. "I can hear just fine, thank you very much!"

"So you'll come back?"

A muscle jumped in the jinchuuriki's jaw. Just what the hell was she trying to pull-

_BAM!_

The blonde's world tilted on its axis as a viscious roundhouse rocked his world. The blow sent him sprawling in the dirt, pack and all, leaving him facedown in the dirt. _Ouch!_ Groaning, he propped himself upon an elbow, rubbing at his already swelling jaw. The girl packed a punch! He hadn't even seen that one coming! Stars-entire planets-swooned before his vision, swimming amidst a sea of black spots as his body struggled to rise, to fight back. He failed, flopping uselessly in the dirt, willing his body to obey. It was no use. He didn't know how to tap into his newfound powers, not yet.

"What the hell was that for?!"

Mirajane giggled.

"That, was a reason to come back."

_"Excuse me?"_

"When you get back, we'll see whose stronger." The grin she gave him sent chills shooting down his spine and he fought not to shudder. "You can try to pay me back for that punch, too. Although...I'll probably still kick your ass to kingdom come!" Naruto blanched at her aura. This girl was evil! Akuma! Oni! But even her wickedness paled in comparison to the Juubi.

**"Boy...**

_'What?'_

**...I think I'm in love."**

_'What?!'_

"But just in case you forget..._here."_

Naruto gawped as he came back to himself, as her fingers locked around his wrists, driving him to the dirt road once more.

"Mira, what're you-

Something warm, soft, and infinitely yielding pressed against his cheek. Naruto started in surprise, blue eyes bulging as he found himself pushed down, her body stradling his. Who? What? When! Where! Why! How! Such were his thoughts as Mirajane pulled away, her lips having alighted upon his cheek for only an instant. An instant. A sliver of time. He had no idea how long it lasted, only that when the demoness finally shook herself free, she was smiling. Grinning, actually.

"I win." She practically purred to herself as she reclaimed her footing.

"Excuse me?"

"Scarlet's had her eye on you the whole time." Mirajane whispered, taking his hand and hauling him to his feet. "Ever since you fell through our roof, she's been following you around like a little lost puppy. And I'll be _damned_ if she gets you first. With this, I already have the advantage. But now that I think abot it..." To his infinite dismay, the demon mage tightened her grip on his wrist. "I don't think I'm satisfied just yet." Mouth met mouth as she dragged him forward; her tongue dancing over his with rough, ragged passion, uncaring for his surprise

"Betcha you never had a kiss like that, huh?"

'I've never kissed a girl until just now,' Naruto wanted to say, but he had the feeling Mira would tease him incessantly for it.

"So...you kissed me to just to upset Scarlet?" Naruto frowned. He was still reeling from their violent lip-lock.

"Wha-of course not! Baka! Who _wouldn't_ want to kiss someone like you! It's not like I _need_ a reason!"

There ws a silence. The slow flushing of Mirajane's skin was like a burning forest fire, spreading from her head to her toes.

"I just said that aloud, didn't I?"

Naruto nodded.

Mirajane's lower lip began to quiver.

"B...B...B...

"Eh?"

"BAKA!"

_Wham!_

"Why did you hit me again, you crazy girl?!"

"B-B-B-Because you made me say it!" Mirajane

"D-Don't forget, alright?" Mirajane lowered her eyes until they were hidden by the snowy tresses of her hair, steadfastly refused to meet his gaze. "Y-Y-You're not allowed to tell anyone else I said that, do you hear me, blondie?! Nobody!"

"Mira...

"MIRAJANE!"

Naruto jumped in surprise, the moment forever broken by the sudden shout. A cloud of dust had kicked up back in the streets, coming rapidly towards them. Running at its head was none other than Erza Scarlet. Both mage and shinobi gawped as the latter came to a skidding, stuttering halt before them, clearly out of breath despite her fit physique.

"Scarlet?" Mirajane blinked her surprise.

"What're you doing here, Erza?" Naruto seconded.

"I...I wanted to say goodbye." She pushed a foot into the floor, as though she could somehow bury her meekness there. "To Naruto-san."

"Ha!" Mirajane crowed, her confidence rising to the fore in the prescence of her rival. "I already did!"

"Nani?"

"With a k-i-s-s." She smiled, enunciating every syllable.

_"Nani?!"_

"MIRAJANE!"

"SCARLET!"

Taking that as his cue, the blond hastily made his escape...

_(End Flashback)_

Naruto half-expected the girls to go at it again; just as they'd done years before. Instead he found himself in the middle of a standoff, the redhead refusing to back down against her white-haired rival. Much like Scarlet, Mirajane had grown in the past; having changed dramatically from the spry little wench he'd known two years prior. _Well, she certainly isn't little anymore._ This was his first and only thought, as he beheld the take-over mage, eyes lingering over her full curves and bosom, drinking in every inch of her. Mira was still dressed like a goth in almost every sense of the word, the sole exception being that she'd exchanged her black ribbon for a crimson one. This slight change was not lost on the Ryuujin.

"So?" Mira's eyes raked over him like hot coals, "Since when did you guys start holding hands?"

Erza flushed.

"I...um...well, that is to say...

"Ara, don't tell me the two of you did _it_ already?" Mirajane crowded closer, a wicked glint in her eyes. "Aha! You did, didn't you?! Well, I guess alls fair in love and war...

"And since when did _you_ get so curious?" Naruto shoved his face against the white-haired mage's, matching her sneer for sneer. "Mirajane-san?"

The takeover mage didn't budge. She gave him a rather ferocious grin.

"You tryin' to start our fight already, blondie?" she smiled as she watched him release Erza's hand. "I didn't think you were that eager."

Naruto returned her grin tenfold.

"That depends."

"On?"

_"This."_

Naruto said nothing more, but he struck like a serpent, yelling his fury and giving his body the sharp countertwist that made his kicks so blindingly fast and powerful. Even Erza, who was looking straight at him, barely saw the strike. Naruto's shin, crushed against Mirajane's knee. Mirajane crushed it back. Naruto's fist found itself locked within the latter's palm, her wrist, snared inside his fist. The two mages, "Demon" and "Ryuujin" stared one another down, sparks skittering between their eyes, twisting at their mouths as they struggled against one another for dominance.

"You've gotten stronger!" Mirajane hissed out. "Blondie!"

"So have you!" Naruto growled back, sweat beading upon his brow. "But even so...you're no match."

"Oh yeah?!"

"Oi!" One of the mages yelled! "Look! The new guy's going at it with Mirajane!"

"Already?!"

"Didn't he already beat Laxus?"

Mirajane grit her teeth, suddenly painfully aware of the eyes, on her, hair standing on end; the long, luscious locks whipping backwards as a magenta aura engulfed her body, sheathing her in violet flame. Black wings burst from her back and scales slithered along the length of her arms, lending her the strength needed to drive the blond back and towards the door. But not for long. Black and crimson light sheathed Ryujin's body in turn, enveloping him in a curtain of otherwordly hellfire as he grappled with the S-Class mage.

"Not bad." Naruto remaked. "But we've attracted a bit of a crowd."

"You aint seen nothin' yet, blondie." The takeover mage bit back. "Let's take this outside."

"Agreed."

Mirajane's only response was to smile.

**"Takeover: Satan Soul."**

A black magic circle erupted over her head, enveloping the white-haired mage in ghastly black light. As the aura faded, it revealed Mirajane in a form that most could easily recognize as her 'Devil' form. Wings, a tail and a scar on her right eye showing off her demonic look...she was even more frightening than before! More than few mages shrank back at the sight. They knew all too well the kind of damage their "demon" could wreak when she was like this, when she was riled beyond belief.

A young man with white hair and tan skin swallowed nervously.

"Sis is getting pissed off...

Beside him, a white-haired girl nodded.

Mirajane smirked, brought her head back...

...and headbutted Naruto.

_Hard._

The ryujin reeled backwards, wincing as a trail of blood leaked down his visage. Mirajane wasted no time; she pounced on the blond; tackling him, driving him outside amidst a flurry of well placed blows, none of which the man seemed to be able to block. When the blonde ryujin did manage to raise a limb, he was sent rocketing backwards and through the wall, leaving a large ray of sunlight from the outside of the guild hall. Mirajane buzzed out of sight once more, this time chasing her prey out through the open air of Magnolia Town.

The room was suddenly moving very quickly, all of the mages that had been standing or sitting idly by now found themselves scrambling to exit the guild and reach the nearest door from which to watch the duel. Erza wanted to balk at this behavior, but Mirajane had obviously intended for this to be some sort of enjoyed spectacle; she couldn't exactly reprimand her rival for wanting to fight a powerful opponent. Besides, it had been a while since she'd Mira in a worthwhile fight herself.

She soon found herself out in the streets with the others. Where was master? A small part of her wondered. Makarov wasn't the sort to let his 'children' fight like this. Certainly not when they were serious! A thunderous blow split the heavens above, demanding Erza's attention once more.

Her dark eyes trained intensely on the two combatants in the skies above. She knew that in their base states, Naruto and Mira would be evenly matched. What really interested her was what was going to happen once Naruto released; he was definitely stronger than Mirajane when using Dragon Force and should have absolutely no problems in winning this duel. In fact, Erza would prefer for it to end as such – the blond mage would ultimately knock Mirajane down a few pegs, hopefully humbling her a bit.

And yet…

Something about Mirajane's confidence had struck her as _off_. She completely understood the fact that two years had passed since she had last seen her arch-nemesis in a serious battle, and that she might have spent every day from then until now training. However, without stronger opponents to fight against, there was absolutely no way that she could ascend enough to defeat someone of Naruto's strength.

So why was she so sure of herself?

Mirajane spun and blocked as Naruto burst out of motionand swung his hand outwards. Two _fists _clashed and showered sparks down onto the street at the duo's feet, sending shockwaves rippling out across the town and its folk. Naruto pulled back and swung forward with his heel, the heavy sandal barely missing Mirajane's head as his right arm came back around, fingers taut and aimed for what would be a debilitating blow. The pale-eyed mage dodged and skipped backwards as her opponent charged forward, jabbing and thrusting with his fists. Mirajane blocked whenever she could, but she was still forced into a retreat.

And then she stopped.

Suffering a strike to the stomah Mirajane surged forward, smashing a clenched fist into her opponent's face. Victory pulled her full mouth into a wide smile, confident and assured of her victory. Except, there was none to be had. Naruto stood there, still as a god, his battered face unfazed by the clawed gauntlet. Raising both hands, he formed a square; limbs contorting, as he created the simple shape. A swirl of shadow sizzled at his fingertips, burning at his lips. An ancient incantation from the darkest depths of his soul.

"Releasing restriction...level one." he murmurred. "One fourth of full power is now allowed."

Mirajane balked as his aura surged, overwhelimg her.

_"Level what?"_

Erza hardly had time to register the words before itself before the fight was over.

She stood in awe as she looked down at the broken street beneath her, trying to replay the movements she'd barely even seen. One second Naruto and Mirajane were hovering a hundred feet in the air above them and the next they were on the ground, Mirajane lying in a broken, battered heap beneath him. Naruto rose slowly and peered down at his fallen opponent, smiling slightly at the now human Mirajane, her Satan Soul, having dissipated the moment before she'd struck the earth. He took his mouth away from hers, a tendril of saliva trailing between them. His eyes were no longer his own, and he was smiling. Erza should've felt horror. Should have been alarmed, upset, dismayed, all these things and more...

...and yet she felt nothing. Not even the tiniest trace of betrayal. If anything, the sight of Naruto kissing her lifelong rival was...arousing? Beside her, Elfman gawped. Lisanna's face was slowly darkening, unable to see nor believe what her eyes were telling her. Erza sympathized with the Strauss sibling. Fairy Tail's demon had just been dominated. Dominated. By the ryujin. Even as she looked on the blond bent to steal another sweet kiss from the white-haired mage, his lips lingering over his. Mirajone moaned.

**"I win this one, wench."** The blond sneered down at his prey, his words darkened and exultant,

"W-W-W-W-What the hell was that?!" Mirajane gasped up at him, unable to comprehend the blonde's sudden twist in behavior "You can't just go kissing me like that out of the blue! Baka yarou! Kono yarou! You ruined the mood! Take responsibility!"

**"And I will."** He continued, in that strange, eerie, not his-voice.

"But I...you...

**"Why so curious, then?"**

"I'm not curious!" The take-over mage jerked her face aside, cheeks burnished a faint pink. "I just know I'm a better lay...that's all!"

**"And what proof have you of this?" **He purred into her ear.

"I just know, alright?!" She pushed him off her, and swiftly stalkked off.

Mirajane sniffed in exasperation and proceeded to walk away from him down the hall, without another word or a look back. The expression on her face as she finished talking spoke volumes in itself–he'd seen it several times during his travels throughout the elemental nation, only now, here, in Fiorre, he knew enough to recognize it.

Desire. It wasn't obvious, but the small grin and half-lidded eyes were enough of a hint. And he hadn't been the one to invoke it.

**"I beleve congratulations are in order, boy."**

_'You! Now what?!'_

**"You've found yourself another mate!"**

_'I swear to kami, if you do that...if you take over my body ONE MORE TIME I will flay you alive!'_

**"There's no longer any need!" **The dragon cackled.** "She's clearly head over heels for you now. She'd probably give you fine children too...**

_'Children?!'_

**"Will you shut up and listen?! I know her type. While that wench is obviously human, she's acting like a demon would. Going after the most powerful alpha she can find. Namely, you."**

_Most power... what does that have to do with anything?'_

**"Power is everything! Didn't you just hear what I said? That wench is going after you because in her mind, she's given you alpha status. You totally overpowered Laxus, one of the strongest male mages in ths guild, which has garnered her attention. Apparently you act in the way she finds ideal for a mate, therefore-**

_'I'm not listening to this!'_ Had he not been holding tending his wounds, the blond would've clamped both over his ears._ 'Not listening!'_

And thus, passed his second day in Fairy Tail.

**A/N: Aaaaaand there you have it. The mission that will forever change Mira-chan's life is coming next chapter! Will Lisanna be saved? Or will she 'die' and force Mirajane to become her current yet gentle self? I'm not sure which I like more, nice, calm Mira, or angry, tsundere Mira...you'll just have to vote! We'll see Things heat up next chapter as we meet more candidates for the harem, which STILL requires your opinions and reasons and votes! So, in the immortal words of Atlas...**

**...REVIEW, would you kindly?**

**R&R! =D**


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